Real Tax Questions, Expert Answers
Get answers to your foreign-owned LLC tax questions from ForeignLLCTax. Every answer includes IRS source citations and step-by-step guidance.
My US LLC is foreign-owned — will the exchange send a Form 1099-DA on my crypto sales?
I am a nonresident founder with a single-member Wyoming LLC (disregarded, no corporate election). The LLC has an account at a large US custodial exchange and sold some BTC and ETH during 2025. Everyon...
I never knew foreign accounts had to be reported — am I eligible for the Streamlined Procedures?
I'm a non-resident who has owned a US LLC and a couple of foreign bank accounts for years. I just found out about FBAR and Form 8938 and realized I should have been reporting. I genuinely didn't know....
My single-member LLC is disregarded — so who is the employer when it hires, me or the LLC?
I'm a nonresident in Portugal and my Wyoming single-member LLC is about to hire its first US-based support employee. Here's what confuses me: every accountant I've talked to says the LLC is 'disregard...
I'm a foreign owner with no US office or employees — am I exempt from US sales tax?
My LLC is owned by me, a non-resident, and I have no office, staff, or property anywhere in the US. I ship products to US customers from overseas. Surely I don't owe US sales tax since I have no prese...
I missed the Form 8832 deadline for my LLC's C-corp election — can I still get the date I wanted?
I wanted my single-member US LLC taxed as a C corporation effective January 1, but I only got around to filing Form 8832 several months later. Is the January 1 date just lost, or is there a way to fix...
My US property sits in a single-member LLC — for FIRPTA, is the LLC the seller or am I?
I'm a non-US person and my Florida rental is titled in a single-member LLC that's disregarded for US tax. We're about to sell, and the buyer's title company keeps asking who the 'foreign transferor' i...
Does storing my inventory in Amazon FBA warehouses create ECI for me as a nonresident?
I'm a nonresident foreign owner of a single-member US LLC (disregarded). I sell physical products on Amazon and use Fulfillment by Amazon, so my stock physically sits in US fulfillment centers, and Am...
When exactly does my foreign-owned US LLC become a 'withholding agent' that has to file Form 1042?
I run a US LLC and I keep seeing the phrase 'withholding agent' attached to Forms 1042 and 1042-S, but nobody explains the trigger in plain terms. I'm not a bank and I'm not a big company. Is this onl...
If I have no US employees and no US warehouse, do I still need to file Form 1040-NR for my foreign-owned LLC?
I'm a non-US-resident running a single-member US LLC that does about $200,000/year through Stripe, selling physical goods worldwide. No US employees, no US office, no US warehouse — everything ships f...
I paid someone on a Chinese marketplace for an ITIN — how do I know if it's real?
About a year ago I paid a service on Taobao around $200 to apply for an ITIN for me. I received what looks like an IRS CP565 letter with a 9-digit number, and I've been using this number on my Form 54...
I'm selling my US rental on a payment plan — can I spread the tax with the installment method?
I'm a non-resident and I'm selling a US rental property to a buyer who'll pay me over five years. Can I use the installment method so I only pay US tax on the gain as the payments come in, instead of ...
I paid a little foreign tax on dividends — do I have to file Form 1116, or can I skip it?
I'm a non-resident who owns a US LLC and also holds some foreign mutual funds. My 1099 shows around $250 of foreign tax withheld on dividends. Do I really have to fill out the whole Form 1116, or is t...
I missed FBARs for several years — do I use the Delinquent FBAR procedures or Streamlined?
I just realized I should have been filing FBARs for my foreign accounts and I'm a few years behind. I keep seeing two different fixes: the 'Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures' and the 'Streamlined'...
I got a CP2000 for my US LLC — is this a bill I have to pay?
I'm a non-resident who owns a single-member US LLC. The IRS just mailed me a CP2000 saying I underreported income, with a dollar amount at the bottom. Is this a bill? Do I have to pay it right away, o...
I'm a foreign owner with a US rental — when does my estate have to file Form 706-NA?
I'm a non-resident and I own a US rental property directly. Someone told me my heirs could owe US estate tax even though I'm not a US person and don't live there. Is that right, and is there really a ...
Is Stripe Atlas worth $350 over a $100 self-formed Wyoming LLC?
I'm comparing two paths for forming my US LLC as a foreign founder. Path A: Stripe Atlas, $350 first year (via the Mercury partner link) covering Delaware LLC formation, EIN, registered agent. Path B:...
What bookkeeping records does a foreign-owned single-member LLC actually have to keep for Form 5472?
I run a US single-member LLC that's owned by me, a non-resident. It's disregarded for income tax but I file Form 5472 with a pro forma 1120 every year. I keep my bank statements and receipts, but I ke...
I run a one-person foreign-owned LLC — do I really need a transfer pricing study, or is that only for big multinationals?
My US single-member LLC is owned by me, a non-resident, and it does maybe $120K a year. The only related-party items are some money my home-country company invoices the LLC for and an owner advance I ...
Why does YouTube withhold US tax on some of my channel money but Google takes nothing from my AdSense website income?
I run a foreign-owned US single-member LLC for my content business. YouTube withholds US tax on a slice of my channel earnings, but my separate website AdSense payouts come through with zero US withho...
My foreign company (not a US LLC) does business in the US — do I file Form 1120-F or Form 5472?
I run a company incorporated in my home country — it is NOT a US LLC. We've started doing real business in the United States this year. I keep reading about Form 5472 for foreign-owned LLCs, but my en...
Does a missing Form 5472 keep my whole LLC year open under section 6501(c)(8)?
I filed my pro forma Form 1120 for my foreign-owned single-member LLC on time, but I completely forgot to attach Form 5472 for a couple of years. Someone told me the normal three-year audit window doe...
Can my foreign-owned US LLC be the importer of record if I have no SSN?
I'm a non-resident and I formed a US LLC to sell private-label goods on Amazon FBA. The factory and my freight forwarder keep asking who the 'importer of record' is. I have no SSN. Can my LLC actually...
Can a non-resident actually do a 1031 exchange on US rental property, or is that only for Americans?
I'm a nonresident alien and I own a US rental property through a single-member LLC. I want to sell it and roll the gain into another US rental instead of paying tax now. Is a Section 1031 like-kind ex...
My Wyoming LLC has Amazon FBA inventory in California, Texas, and Florida — do I have to foreign-qualify in all three?
I formed my LLC in Wyoming and sell on Amazon. Amazon moves my inventory into warehouses in California, Texas, and Florida without asking me. I keep reading conflicting things — some say FBA inventory...
The IRS sent CP6042 asking about our entity information. Is this just a questionnaire, or can it delay refunds and filings?
We received a CP6042 notice tied to our EIN setup, asking for more information about the entity and who is really affiliated with it. Some people on the team want to treat it like a low-priority quest...
I sold property to my brother on a note and he may flip it quickly. Can that pull the gain back into my return sooner?
I am from Italy and sold a small commercial property interest to my brother using an installment note because he could not pay all at once. The gain is significant, around $140,000. I later learned he...
A formation nominee ended up on our EIN application. Can Form 8822-B fix that after the fact?
When our LLC was formed, the service provider used a nominee during setup and that person ended up tied to the EIN application. We now understand that the nominee should never have been treated as the...
Does having no U.S. tax due exempt my foreign-owned single-member LLC from Form 5472 in tax year 2026?
I formed my single-member LLC last year. The business made nothing this year, so I owe no U.S. federal tax. Does that mean I can skip the Form 5472 filing for tax year 2026? I keep seeing conflicting ...
Does owning a U.S. multi-member LLC trigger Form 8865 in 2026?
I'm a U.S. person and I'm a partner in a U.S. LLC taxed as a partnership. Some advisor mentioned Form 8865. Is that the form for our LLC, or am I confused?
Do I automatically need an ITIN in 2026 just because I own a U.S. LLC from outside the country?
I'm a foreign owner of a single-member LLC. Some service providers tell me I need an ITIN immediately. Others say I only need one when I have to file a personal return. What's the actual IRS rule for ...
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